Traction car and the like



May '431, 1927. msom O. P. SMITH TRACTION GAR AND 'um LIKE File@ May 24, .me

. I l o /6 will o'llllll mm n |`r\ u u 4.

vPatelllted May 3l, 1927.

UNIT-En STATES y 1,630,812 PATENT 'oFF-ice.-

` V ownN r. SMITH, or mam, Encarna ".rnae'rron can .um rnnmxn.

` AThe resent inventionis a continuation in part ai) my application Serial No. 595,045,

- led 'October 17, l1922, now Patent No.

5 This invention relates tocars forA operation upon rail tracks; andespe'cially tothe 'class of cars mounted u on flour Banged wheels, or trucks having each, tov. be operated upon trac s vhav-ing la 'sharp' turns which the c ar is required to make at very high speed.

The object of my resent invention isto ,provide such a car W ierein the wheels will automatically follow the curve of the track l5 and thus avoid danger'of jumping from the track and injuring the ca'r and causing 'damage to nearby property. v

Another object is to provide such a car,

which can be operated from a distance, and

without any person aboard the car to steer I or curves without `jumping the track, no matter how high a speed the car may attain' such curves.

With the above, and other objects in view,

which will more particularly'a pear in the ,following descri tion, I have s own vthe accompanying i ustrations one embodiment of m said invention, as applied to electric l 40 Ato show operating parts.`

In the construction generally of cars for operation upon rail tracks, ithas'been cus tomary to mount the cars upon either four ianged wheels, in the case of small cars, or

in case of largr cars, upon two trucks of, g'u

four wheels eac Generally the said wheels are ixedly attached to an axle, and said axle ismounted torotate in bearings rigidly attached to the frame. This construction holds the forward and rear wheels rigidly in line, whether travelin on a-straight track, or around curves, en as a consequence, whenever the car turns a curve, the wheels on one 'side must slide against the outer rail to adapt the direction tothe direction ofthe curve. While such cars v operate quite satisat a high speed, they are very likely to jump our liian ed wheels ,'de it on the curves, and .which will-` um orinly and automatically negotiate the' operation.

An axle Appnmioa'aiea amy 24,1926. seran No. 111,153.

actorily on straight tracks, and around large -curves at slow speed`yet whenever attempt is made to operate them around a sharp turn the track, and even if they do not jum the track,- the wear on lthe Ranges of the w eels, y

and on the' outer rail becomes excessive.

'lhe cars `whichal have illustrated herein, are'adapted for use in my dog-racing amuse-A ment, as patented in former patentsto me and are adapted to operate Aat high speed around a small track, with sharp turns, and to be operated from the control tower at some distance from the track, and in practice I have found them-very safe and ecient. Inthe construction of the car illustrated in the accompanying drawings, I have preferably constructed a rectan lar frame of angle irons as 1 and 2 fort e sides, and 3 and 4 for the ends, these parte being securely attached together at the corners by rivets, or welding, as preferred. YTo support the working parts of said car, and. strengthen said frame, I `haveprovided cross members,A as 6, 7 and 8 all of which are attached to the side pieces as shown. .Near the rear of the frame, as at9 and 10, I have provided f suitable bearings 4for the vaxle 11, which Ais rotatably mounted in said bear' At the ends of this axle 1l I have fixed y attached j the'two flanged wheels 12 and 13. Near 'the forward art of my frame, I have provided the pivota 1y mounted cross bar 5, which is mounted at its mid-center upon a bolt, pin or king-bolt 18' assing through the mid-center of said crossar, and through an opening provided in the cross .piece 6 of the frame. `At the extremities ofthe crossfbar 5 I have provided suitable guides, as 14,15, 16, 17 which are attached to the'upper side of said cross bar and then extend upward, and again'horizontally to engage the upper ed of the angle irons 1 and 2' forming the si e `frame of the ear, the object of said ides, .being to retain the` cross-bar 5 *in substantially horizontal position while in 22 is rotatably mounted in two bearings 20 and 21 xedlyattached-to said cross-bar 5, and on the extremities 'of said axlev are iixedly mounted the two-traction anged wheels 23 and 24. v.at 27 and 28 I. have shown two tension rings which are located one upon either side of the center or king-bolt attaching the cross-bar to the frame, theother end of each sp being suitably attached to the crossieee 7. at suit able points for the purpose. have prefer-.

ably 'attachedsaid springs to the cross-bar by means of screw-eyes32, `32, with nuts upon the opposite side of said cross-bar, thus affordin means of increasing or reducing thetension of one or both of said springs,

when desired. At 29 I have .mounted a Sultf able electric motor upon said frame, for operation of said car through current supplied thereto by a' third rail 33, or other suitablev means.- 'A gear wheel 3 0 upon the shaft of' ear said motor vis in mesh with an idle wheel 31a mounted upon the lframe, w ich in turn is in mesh with the gear 31 mounted upon the rear axle 11,.and inl consequence,

Whenever the electric motor islr'otated. in

operation the earin'g rotates the rear axle, andthe rear W eels propel the car along the track 34and in the usual way.

In the. foregoing construction, as will be seen, l have provided front wheels which i around thecurve without the usual risk of,v

arefmounted'to turn' sideways, when negotiating a curve, the saine as the front-wheels of a buggy or automobile are turned in negotiating a curve. lBy this construction, the wheels can readily adapt themselves yto the direction of the curve, and follow the rails jumping the track, as when the front` and rear` wheels are 'held rigidly in alignment.

As my 'cars are too small to carry an Opf. .erator to turn lthe frontl wheels when a preaching the curves, I have rov-ided t e means shown consisting of t e swlveled front axle, and the tension 'sprmgs connected from said swiveled axle to the frame.` The springs are' preferably adjusted 1 b means of the screw-eyes and nuts to suc tension as shall Abe best suited Ato the. purpose for which the car is employed. In straight v tracks, or those having slight curves, the tension of the two springs should be slight and equal. On tracks where the car is continu- `ally describing a small circle at high speed,

as 1n the dog racing track, the tension of the ring onthe outer side should be much less s than the one on the inner side, therebyper# mitting'the wheels to turnin the direction of the curve at very sli ht pressure upon the ange 'of the' outer w eeL' -While I have shown'tension springs in use, yet it isa parentthat any equivalent means vma e departing employed to accomplish this result, wit out from the spirit of the invention.-

While have shown Vthe front .wheel only i as swiveled, .it is apparent that vtherear wheels -may also be swiveled,.or. the rear wheels only swiveled, or that'the wheels on 'one side-may be mounted to turn'on a pivot, and the wheels on the other side mounted rigidly. IV usually employ weights, lof -suitable size as 35, 35 mounted upon the forward part of the car to assist'in holding the oar upon the track.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and 4desire to secure by Letters Patent, fis the following power 'mounted upon said frame, traction wheels. mounted upon an axle rotating in bearings rigidly attached to said frame,

wheels mounted upon a second axle rotating in bearings mounted upon a support adapted to rotate pivotally aboutits mid-center, guides on said support and engaging the frame to hold said support in horizontal position and springs connected'betweenlsaid support and the frame adapted tohold said wheels normally in alignment with the aforementioned Wheels.

l.l Ina traction car of the class described, Athe combination with a frame, of a motive' 2. In a device ofthe class described, the I combination with a motor driven car, of an axle rotatably mounted in .bearings rigidly attached to said car, wheels fixedly mounted upon said axle, a second axle rotatably mounted in bearings attached to a cross-bar pivoted at its mid-center to the frame and adapted to turn to right or left, bolts extending through said cross bar and being lprovided with adjustingv means and springs Aconnected from said bolts .to the frame on either side of its center adapted to hold said cross bar .normally l at right angles to the direction of travel of the car. l

3.v In a device of the character described', -a frame comprising side and end members,

an axle journalled 1n bearings carried by the frame and having wheels `thereon, cross membersv extending transversely of the l frame to form Supports, a cross bar pivotally supported by, one of the cross members for swlnging movement in a horizon-tal plane, an axle carrying wheels )ournalled 1n supportson saidpivotal cross bar, guides` on said cross bar and extending upwardly and outward to engage the side frame, thereby holding the cross bar in horizontal posi-` tion,l bolts passing transversely through the cross bar on-both sides of the pivotal connection between the crossl bar and cross member and sprin s connecting the saidv bolts-with a secon 

